He Comes Again!
by Willow Treaty
Summary: Alyss is captured by the Dark Lord Morgarath and has a baby girl. She names the child Willow and gives her charms to rember her by. At age 5, Willow escapes from their prison and sets off through the country to find her real father. Wandering, gathering information and skills, she ends up apprenticed to her father, Will Treaty. But she doesn't know what is coming. No one does...
1. Prologue

Hi Everyone! This is my first fanfic story so I hope you like it! ~Willow Treaty

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own ANY of the **_**Ranger's Apprentice characters, places, etc.**_

Prologue:

Alyss ran about five meters before Morgarath's Cat pounced on her. Will killed the last of the wargals and ran after them as the cat dragged her through the trees. Will took a hold of her hand with one of his and wrapped his other arm around a tree. Alyss fought the cat with one hand while trying to pull herself closer to him, to wrap her arms around his waist. The cat, finally fed up with the resistance, swiped a paw at Will. The paw caught Will in the stomach and he flew three meters back onto a wall of stay-with-me vines. His clothes caught on the vines and he struggled for freedom.

One of the wargals he thought was dead, grabbed a rock with all the strength it had and hurled it at Will. The force of the rock bashed the back of his head on the wall. _Darkness. So soothing..._ He forced his eyes open once again. _I have to save Alyss. _He fought the darkness when it all stopped. He looked up from where he was entangled and saw the beast, and the wargal. But not Alyss. Instead, he saw a young girl in her place. Dark green hair, crystal green eyes. _A beautiful young lady_. He thought. He studied her for a moment. He noticed a necklace around her neck. There were three charms he saw. He looked at them closely. On one side, there was a small green oakleaf, on the other a small gem. In the middle, and he was quite surprised at what he saw, a dark brown dragon pendant. He heard a scream and everything went black again.

He opened his eyes once more. He watched as Halt and Pauline ran towards him worry lining both faces. Alyss was gone, the girl was gone, and he had a killer headache. They cut the vines holding him captive and put an arm under his. They all staggered a little as Will's leg gave way under him. He had been cut in the shin by one of the wargals so he could only limp. They slowly traveled through the forest back to their campsite where Horace was waiting for them. He watched at the three cautiously make their way to the campsite.

Will sat on a log near the fire and silently accepted a bowl of soup from Horace. Halt and Pauline also accepted the bowls that Horace offered them. Horace, clearly confused, sat down next to his life long companion and they all ate in silence. After Will was done, he quietly crawled to his saddlepack. He put in a small bundle of cloth and limped to his tent. Horace looked at Halt as Will disappeared into the tent and looked at him quizzically. Halt just shook his head. "He'll tell us tomorrow." Horace nodded and they all fell asleep.

In the morning, however, Will didn't speak at all. He limped to his saddlepack and pulled out a bundle of cloth that he had put there the night before. They all stared at the bundle until Will opened it to reveal what was hidden inside. The others gasped as Alyss' wedding ring appeared inside the small bundle. Tears welled up in Will's eyes and he quickly put it back into the saddlepack.

They all looked at him as he took a deep breath. Halt moved closer to his former apprentice. "Can you tell us what happened?" He asked, his tone soft. Will nodded and motioned them to sit with him as he prepared to tell them what happened.

"Well..." He began. Not sure where to start. The others were quiet as he gathered his thoughts. "Alyss and I went out to gather some more firewood when we heard crying. Alyss dropped the bunch she was carrying and ran towards the sound." Pauline nodded. That was typical of her to rush and help someone. Will continued, his voice wavering slightly. "I followed her dropping what I had too. When we got to the source, everyone we saw was dead. Except one." He paused, not willing to say the name. Halt, concerned, asked who it was. Will looked at him and Halt was surprised to find a mixture of hate and regret.

"It was Morgarath." He said, in almost a growl. The others gasped as he said the name. Will waited for a few seconds before continuing. "He had a cat, as big as kicker, which he could control as well as he could with the wargals. It took only one command and it would obey. So when he saw us standing at the edge of the small town, he pointed to Alyss and spoke one word." He heard an intake of breath as he paused. Probably from Pauline he thought. "He spoke it as clear as day. Capture. The creature looked at us and started running. We turned and ran. When we got to the clearing, I ran into a small group of his wargals." He motioned towards his leg as proof. "I killed them all and got cut in the leg as a reward."

I ran as fast as I could towards Alyss when I noticed that the cat was almost upon her. It bit down on the back of her clothing and started to pull her back. I got to where they were and grabbed onto the nearest tree with one arm. With the other, I took a hold on her hand and we fought for her freedom." He paused, silent for a moment. "I guess that it was fed up with the fact that it's mission was being delayed because it yanked with all it's strength and made me stumble away from the tree and Alyss. It took one swipe from it's massive paw to send me flying into that wall of stay-with-me vines. I fought the urge to give into the blackness when one of the wargals that I thought was dead threw a good sized rock at my head. It hit me and everything stopped. I looked around. I saw the wargal and the cat, but I didn't see Alyss." They all looked at Will in confusion.

"In her place I saw a girl. About fifteen. The cat was taking her instead and I was in the exact position I was when it was taking Alyss." He shook his head. Halt was puzzled at what Will had seen.

"Can you describe her Will?" Will looked up at his former mentor. "Yes. I can." Halt gestured for him to continue. "She had dark green hair, crystal green eyes, and a freckled face." Horace looked at him like he was crazy. "Did you say she had GREEN hair?" Will smiled for the first time that day. "Yes." He answered. Halt's eyes rolled to the heavens. "Lets go home before anything else happens."


	2. Chapter 1

_** Did you like the last one? If you thought it was kinda boring, I don't mind. It was only the prologue anyways. ~Willow Treaty**_

**We already went over the disclaimer so yada yada yada... OK... You can start reading now... Why are you still reading this? If you keep reading, I will tell you a spoiler! JK JK.**

Will sighed. It has been five years since Alyss was captured and he still couldn't get over it. Two more arrows thudded into the target. How could he forget that day? He was there, he had seen it all. And that girl... _Who was she?_ He was so deep in thought, he didn't even notice Tug's welcoming nicker. An arm touched his shoulder. He jumped back in surprise just to find Horace standing there trying to suppress a grin. Will rolled his eyes as his friend doubled over, laughing all the way down.

"Gorlog save me now." He muttered under his breath. Horace caught the comment and said, still laughing, "Why are you bringing Gorlog into this? He wasn't the one who jumped a mile when I touched him." Will glared at him. Horace met the glare with a challenging smile. Soon Will sighed and gave up glaring. Horace laughed and slapped him on the back.

Will retrieved his arrows and put them on the porch for further use. The two were about to walk inside when they heard a scream. Without thinking, Will jumped over the railing and bolted in the direction of the scream, with Horace at his heels. They came into a small clearing and Will looked around frantically. When he saw nothing he sat on the ground, head in his hands. Horace was on edge as he watched his friend, senses screaming that something wasn't right.

His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, easing it out of his scabbard ever so slightly, ready for use. After a few minutes Will stood up and motioned for Horace to follow. "Lets just go home, Horace." They turned back onto the road and started walking back. The went about two meter when they heard someone singing. The song was slow and the voice sounded evil. Horace, drawn to the voice, walked off the path and towards the source. Will followed Horace as they made their way towards the mysterious voice. They came upon another road, this one larger. Will looked around and saw everyone looking paralyzed. Even Horace, who had just gotten there.

Travelers, a band of thieves, and even a few nobles were motionless on the ground or in carriages. He looked around, being the only one who could move out of them all and tried to find the source of the singing. He watched as a child, about the age of five, walked over to the thieves and emptied all of their pockets. A few minutes passed and by the time all of the thieve's pockets had been empty, the song stopped. She quickly tied them all up and walked over to Will. He stepped a few paces back but stopped when she held out a small bag.

"It's for your friend over there." She gestured towards Horace, who was now on the ground holding his head in his hands, looking as if he were in pain. Everyone else that froze did too but Will wasn't worried about them at the moment. He hurriedly went to Horace and dropped some of the contents into his mouth. A few seconds later and Horace was back to normal. Horace shook his head, "I never wanted to hear that song again." The girl laughed a little. Both of their heads turned towards her.

"Who are you?" Horace asked glaring at her. She took a step forwards and challenged the glare. "I'm the one that sang the song." She replied. Horace stepped back a few paces with a surprised look. "And I'm being paid to do it too." They looked at her in surprise. Will was the first to speak. "By who?" He asked. She looked at Horace puzzled. "Hasn't she told you?" Horace shook his head. She shook her head. "Dang it Cassandra! Why didn't you tell your own husband?" She muttered. Horace caught what she had muttered and said, "Wait? Did you just say _Cassandra_?" The girl looked up and rolled her eyes. "Yes I did! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my tent." She turned around and started walking away, when Will's voice stopped her.

"Do you want to become my apprentice?"

She turned around to look at him. She was alone and had no one to keep her company. "Yes. I would like that. Will nodded and said, "Do you have any belongings you want to bring with you?" She shook her head. "I don't have anything that I don't keep with me." He nodded. It was a sensible reason he thought.

Horace looked at them both incredulously. "So that's it? No talking with Crowley? Nothing?" Will looked at him and shook his head. "Horace, you have to promise to keep this a secret from everyone." Horace looked almost defeated, "But she's only six!" Will nodded. "That's why it has to be a secret from everyone. Even Cassandra." He said the last statement while looking his friend in the eyes. Horace gave in. "Okay fine. But this better not backfire." They both looked at her after this last statement. "What? You think I'm not capable of taking care of myself? I bet you that I've gone through a lot more dangerous things than you both combined"

They both recoiled at the statement, as if they had been struck. Horace recovered quickly. "Oh yeah? Prove it!" She smiled and pulled up her sleeve until he arm was bare. There, you could see that she had been marked, with a hot iron. The sign of a pirate slave. They both looked at it, then at her. She had a slight frown on her face. "What's wrong?" She asked the two of them.

Will stuttered when he spoke. "Y-you were a slave to S-sturge'dys B-black?"

**By the way, Sturge'dys is pronounced [Stur-gi-dey-ess]**


	3. Chapter 2

_** By the way, Sturge'dys Black is the most feared pirate that anyone has ever met. If you are a slave to him, you most likely die within three weeks. ~Willow Treaty**_

**I have nothing to say at this moment but you will probably hear from me after the chapter. I'm sorry if I take so long with adding new chapters. I write these during lunch and after school. It is FREEZING in the lunchroom! Anyways, hope you liked it so far! Oh and BTW they know that her name is Willow I just couldn't figure out how to add that into the story.**

It has only been a week. Will showed her the many weapons that the rangers use, but she said that she already knew how to use them. He looked at her. "Can you demonstrate to me how well you can use each of these?" She looked back at him. "Yes. I can also split your arrow in half it it gets in my way." Will shrugged and shot an arrow, getting a perfect bulls eye. She looked at him with an irritated look. He smiled. "If you can demonstrate to me that you can really 'split my arrow in half', then I will let you sing to me tonight." She looked from the arrow to him, smiling wide.

It was a really disturbing smile, he thought. It was a mixture of happy and 'you don't know what is coming'. He shook his head as she lifted her bow, arrow nocked. In less time than Will could say anything she let go of the string, letting the arrow fly off into the air. Will looked at her like she was crazy. "Why did you do that? It went way off target." She looked at him distractedly. "Not if you shoot it right."

Before Will could speak, she dropped to the ground, springing back up with her hands and kicking Horace in the ribs. He stumbled and she grabbed his shield, using it to deflect the arrow coming strait towards them. It hit the shield and flew towards the target, hitting dead center and splitting Will's arrow in half. The two boys stared wide eyed at the split arrow then looked back at her.

"Wow Willow. That, that was something!" Horace exclaimed, rubbing his now bruised ribs. She beamed and looked at Will. "Can I now?" She asked. He shook his head. "You can do it when we invite Horace over for dinner tonight." She nodded and started to walk away when Will's voice stopped her. "And gather some firewood will you?" She looked at him and nodded, changing her course towards the trees. Horace glanced at Will as she disappeared into the forest. "And what is this IT you were speaking of?" Will smiled. "You'll know when the time comes."

Will set down the plates in front of Horace and Willow. Horace's was bigger than both of theirs. Willow's was smaller than Will's. She looked out of the small window and watched as a bird landed on the sill, just in front of her. It looked at her as if saying, _Can I have some of that?_ She looked down at her untouched food, then at Will and Horace. The two were chatting as if she was never there. Grabbing a piece of her food, she laid it on the sill in front of the bird. It picked it up eagerly and flew off, _Thank you. _She shook her head and turned back to her food. She looked away, not hungry. Standing up, Willow crosses the room to a portrait of the sea. It was her favorite because of the colors. She chose the prettiest color of blue she could find and quickly changed the color of one eye.

She glanced at the two boys and walked out the front door. It was dark, but she felt at home. She shifted her form and became a kingfisher. She immediately called out to Will, signaling that she would be back. He acknowledged the signal with his own. When she heard his signal, she took off into the night sky.

About thirty minutes went past before she heard Will's call for her to come back. She spread out her wings and flew towards the window, circling the living room and touching the wall as she shifted back to her human form. A few seconds later, a picture of a kingfisher was engraved in the wood, its colors shimmering. Horace looked at Will, astonished. Will merely shrugged and motioned for her to join them. "You should see the one she put in her room." Will said as Willow walked towards them.

Horace arched his brow, in a failed attempt to mimic Will and Halt's favorite expression. She smiled at him. Will decided to finally tell Horace what was going on. "Horace. We made a deal and I said that if she is able to split my arrow, she could sing for us." Horace opened his mouth to argue but Will stopped him. "She has agreed to do nothing that will affect you in any way." He said quickly. Horace relaxed a bit but stayed on guard.

They motioned for her to start and she hesitated. Racking her brain, she found the perfect one. "This is a song my mother would sing to my friend and I before we slept." Will nodded and she took in a deep breath. One look at the two that were watching her and she began singing.

_"Come little children_

_I'll take thee away, Into a land_

_Of enchantment_

_Come little children_

_The time's come to play_

_Here in my garden_

_Of shadows_

_Follow sweet children_

_I'll show thee the way_

_Through all the pain and_

_The sorrows_

_Weep not poor children_

_For life is this way_

_Murdering beauty and_

_Passions_

_Hush now dear children_

_It must be this way_

_Too weary of life and_

_Deceptions_

_Rest now my children_

_For soon we'll away_

_Into the calm and_

_The quiet_

_*Woos*_

_Come little children_

_I'll take thee away, Into a land_

_Of enchantment_

_Come little children_

_The time's come to play_

_Here in my garden_

_Of shadows"_

She stopped, looking at the two. They just looked at her, as if they were unable to move. Her face paled. Did she do something to them?

**I was listening to _Come Little Children_. Just so you know. ~Willow Treaty**


	4. Chapter 2-3

Will was the first to recover. He blinked and looked at Willow. A tear ran down her face, making a line through the dirt and dust. He rose from his seat and wrapped his arms around her small form. Sitting down slowly, he pulled Willow towards him until she was on his lap while he was cradling her in his arms. Horace watched as tears poured down her face. He looked at Will, who just shrugged in reply.

After a while, Willow finally fell asleep. Will stood up carefully, making sure as to not wake her up, and smiled at Horace. He walked to her bedroom and set her down putting the blanket on top of her. Walking out, Will sat once more next to Horace. "What happened?" Horace asked. Will, clearly puzzled, merely shook his head.

After a few minutes of silence, Horace dismissed himself, leaving Will to think. He sat up and walked outside, lifting the door so the hinges wouldn't screech. He sighed as it closed. Sitting in the chair on the veranda, he thought about her until he finally gave way to sleep.


	5. Chapter 3

_**I'm not sure which book I'm doing this about yet. I'm kinda surprised at myself**_

_**because I've read the series three times already. ~Willow Treaty**_

**My brother is watching **_**Horton Hears a Who**_** inside and I'm in the backyard **

**writing this.**

Willow woke up to the sound of an instrument. She looked out the window. Seeing that it was still dark, she quietly removed her covers, she quickly dressed in new clothing and pulled on her boots. Carefully opening her door, she walked out into the hall and towards the front door, saxe knife in hand. She forgot about the squeaky hinges as she opened the door. Wincing, she shut it behind her, almost slamming the door.

She turned back around looking at the figure five meters away. It was holding an instrument, a guitar she guessed. She slowly moved off the porch and closer to it. When she was a meter away, she almost recoiled in shock. A man. Her eyes widened at the sight. It was back. The Masked Man was back.

She knew that it was one of the Dark Lord's creations. She had never known what it was. It wasn't human, she knew. But at the same time, it was. Stepping back, she started to make her way back to the porch.

It moved with her. Every step back she took, it would move a step forward. If she ran, it would run after her, gradually moving closer with every step it made. With all the noise she had made going out, she didn't notice that Will had been asleep on the porch. Woken by all the noise, Will looked at the small figure of Willow as she moved out of the house. He watched as she moved close to a figure in the middle of the small clearing. He stood up as she started to move backward, pulling his saxe out of it's sheath in the process.

He watched as she drew and threw all the daggers she had at the creature, them all hitting it's target. Walking towards the two, Will hid his saxe from the creature's view. He actually recoiled back a few steps when he got to the point where Willow was standing. Her daggers were sticking out of it's head and heart, but it walked and acted like nothing had happened. Putting a hand on Willow's shoulder, he gently pushed her towards their cabin.

As she took a step towards it, the Masked Man moved a step towards Will. She stopped and moved beside Will once more. So it will move forwards, but not backwards, Will thought, studying the creature. He started to lift his saxe into fighting position when, out of nowhere, vines came out of the ground and latched onto his arms. He fell back with a small gasp.

Willow glanced at Will's fallen form and kept looking at the creature's face. In the corner of her eye, the creature's hand started to move towards Will. She reacted quickly. Grabbing it's wrist, she twisted sideways, flinging the creature to her right. She stared wide eyed as all of her knives fell out of the creature as it stood up. _It's unharmed!_ She thought. _It's got a weak point right? Everything has a weak point... _She wasn't so sure.

Just as quick as it started, it ended. Before she could react, the creature had taken out it's own knife. The blade was pure black, gleaming in the moonlight, with the handle shining with a dull silver color. A pale purple mist was floating around the blade as the creature moved towards her. She involuntarily took a step back and tripped over Will's trapped arm. Falling to the ground with a thud, she looked at the creature once more.

It raised it's knife quickly, ready to strike at the girl. Will sensed that if he didn't react now, she would die. He swung his leg at the creature, hitting it's back and making it stumble and fall. But, instead of piercing her heart, like it was instructed to do, the blade sliced the skin of her face. Blinded by blood in one eye, Willow threw a well placed punch at it, her fist making a solid impact on it's jaw. The creature flew backwards, hitting a tree about seven meters away.

The creature stood up slowly and clicked it's fingers as Willow fell to the ground beside Will. The vines holding Will to the ground disappeared, and he crawled over to Willow, resting her head in his lap. He looked up and watched as the creature shambled towards him, holding out a piece of paper. Clearly the hit to the tree had broken a bone in that leg of his. Will held out his hand and it dropped the paper, watching it float into Will's hand. It turned around and limped out of the clearing, and out of sight.

Will shoved the paper into his pocket and carefully lifted Willow's unconscious body into his arms. He sped back to their cabin and set her down on the table, grabbing a rag to stem the flow of blood. He shivered at the pained look on Willow's face as he stitched up the wound.

Will heard Tug's welcoming nicker as Horace walked in the door. He tied tied off the end of the stitching and turned to talk to his friend. Turning around, he saw the surprised and questioning look on Horace's face and motioned for him to sit down. They sat on the bench separating the kitchen from the rest of the room and Horace couldn't help blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.

"What happened?"

Will looked at him, weary. Horace realized that he must have been up all night. "You don't have to answer that right now. You just go get some sleep." Will was a bit surprised and a bit relieved at his friend's words. He nodded and scooped up Willow in his arms and carried her back to her room. Laying her on the bed, he asked her quietly, "what was that?"

Her left hand twitched and she mumbled in reply. He had to strain his ears when she repeated it, this time in a low whisper. "The Masked Man. One of Morgarath's creations." Will flinched as she said the name and stroked her cheek. He was tired. He was just about to stand up when a thought struck him. He turned back to her to ask one more question.

"Who was your mother?"

Her whole arm twitched at that question. He just barely managed to stop himself from grabbing the young girl's wrist. She seemed to look up at him through the fog of her mind. For a moment she said nothing. After what seemed like hours, she finally answered. "I-I don't know. All I know is that her initials are AM."

He sighed. That was all he was going to get from her today. He stoked her cheek one more time and stood up walking to the door and closing it silently behind him. Horace was standing at the door and he helped Will get to his bed before he collapsed. Will fell asleep as soon as he touched his bed. Horace walked out of Will's room and sat on the couch. It would be a few hours before either of them woke up.

Making himself comfortable, he picked up a book and read until he fell asleep.

_**Sorry it took so long. My family has been very busy! ~Willow Treaty**_


	6. Chapter 4

_**Sorry if it takes me so long to write a single chapter... ~ Willow Treaty**_

**Did you like it so far?**

_She ran back to the little playground they were using as their quarters, thoughts set on target practice. Halt was already there and started talking. "You better hurry, its almost dark." She replied with a yes and grabbed her arrows. She nocked and shot the arrows in rapid succession at the trees around her. When she ran out, she retrieved them and turned for the playground. She went inside and quickly closed the door behind her. She took a lighter and sealed the slide door shut. She threw it to the side and ran onto the playground when they were switching places. The midget zombie looked up at her and started to chase her around. She ran to a small junkyard and saw Gilan. Next to an old RV. He waved at her and she waved back. When she got to his side, she jumped back when she saw a shadow quickly scurry away when they looked at it. She ran around the RV and grabbed the source. It jumped away from her and landed in front of a shed. It turned into a giant alien and grabbed her, lifting her into the air. She felt herself being lifted into the air and yelled. "Halt!" She hoped that somehow he would hear her and come to the rescue. She was dropped and it was holding a giant shovel. The shovel began a deadly arc down and she could only stand helpless as it slammed down into the side of Will's head. At the same time, Halt was with Horace. Halt killed someone and walked out of the small crowd forming around the body. Then, the next thing they knew, they were at Will's funeral watching them bury his body. Tears slid down both her and Halt's cheeks._

She woke up, just managing to suppress a scream. It came out as a small whine instead. Tears slid down her cheeks and fell onto her arms. Will, even though he was extremely tired, heard the small whine and immediately stood up. He quietly walked to her room and opened the door. She looked up at him through the tears in her eyes and let him try to comfort her.

After a while, the tears stopped and Will left her to think. He walked out and quietly woke up Horace asking, "Watch over her please." Will walked back to his room and slept once more.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Willow stood up a few minutes later and walked into the living room. Looking at Horace, she decided not to wake him. Feeling useless, she started doing Will's every morning chores. One by one, they got done and, feeling useless once more, she began to cook their breakfast.

Will was woken by the sound off sizzling bacon. Thinking that Horace must already be awake, he walked out of his room and walked into the main room. Seeing Horace sprawled on the couch, he looked in the kitchen where Willow was cooking. That surprised him. Last time she had cooked, she had completely botched it. But, at least she didn't kill the coffee.

Hearing him approach, she turned around and handed him a plate. Gesturing towards the food, she left him and went outside. Realizing that she wanted him to eat, he grabbed a small portion of the food and gave it a go. Expecting the worst, he stuck a bit of egg in his mouth and chewed. This was nothing like when she first tried.

Horace, dreaming of food, sensed that something was wrong. He woke up with a start, all thoughts of food gone. Only until he smelled the bacon. Sitting up, he looked at Will, who looked as if he found heaven on earth. Walking over, he sat down next to Will. Looking at the food in front of him, he wondered why his friend was acting the way he was. He picked up a piece of bacon an decided to try it. Then, and only then, was he ever able to make the same face as Will. "This is better than Master Chubb's breakfasts!" Will was quick to agree.

Willow walked onto the veranda, looking around. _Why do I not know where I am? I feel like I should. What's going on?_ Willow knelt down in the grass. She looked at the birthmark on her left shoulder. To her, it looked like a phoenix head. She vaguely remembered someone saying that it changed colors with her mood, but, to her annoyance, she couldn't remember who it was. All she remembered was those brown eyes of his.

In her mind, she reviewed what she knew. Her name was Willow, but she'll go as Lillian. She could cook, but she wasn't going to make that a habit, she has an almost unlimited amount of patience, and that her mother had been captured by Morgarath's brother.

Forcing herself to stay calm, she decided that she would visit an outlying village. _Surely there's a village or town nearby, isn't there?_ She looked again at the cabin. Before she left, she would grab any personal belongings that were in the room she woke up in. Walking in the door, the two men looked up at her and smiled. Shivering, she walked into the room she came out of.

While gathering her small items, she was quiet, listening to their praising. When she was done, she walked out of the small room and tried to get past them without attracting their attention. That didn't work too well. She ended up knocking over Will's mandola case and tripping over the dog, Sable. They both looked her way and she felt the color changing on her birthmark, which was showing on her bare arm, since she was wearing a one sleeved shirt.

_Red for angry,_

_Blue for sad,_

_Pink for embarrassed,_

_Purple for love,_

_Orange for excitement,_

_Yellow for frightened,_

_Green for confidant_

_Brown for threatened_

_and Black for evil_

She shivered at the thought of becoming evil. At the same time, she quickly covered her birthmark with a rag on the floor next to her. Being only six years old, it was only normal for her to start blushing. But she was no normal kid. She was a little shy and hated being the center of attention. One person was fine, but two was too much. Forcing her voice to sound neutral, she said, "I'm going out."

Will nodded okay and she started walking towards the door. It was Horace's voice that stopped her. "Don't forget to come back when you hear the call signal." She looked at them. Call signal? She didn't remember knowing any call signal. Will must of sensed her growing confusion because he told her to forget about it and just go. She nodded once and walked quietly out the door, jogging steadily to the nearest village.


	7. Chapter 5

_ Well, sorry this is taking so long to finish. ~Willow Treaty_

**I am in Phoenix, Arizona right now and we're staying at a friend's house until Sunday. Just a little update on my life...**

She never found the village. Instead, she found herself at Castle Redmont. Looking at it, clearly interested, she unthinkingly wondered if she could climb all of the castle's towers in a week. She smiled. There were only four towers, so she could climb them all at least once in a week. Willow studied the castle walls. They were made of iron, turning a reddish color when the sun hits them in the right spot.

She walked past the guards, noting their gear and remembering their faces. They nodded to her and went to greet the people behind her. Obviously they were friends. She wandered around for a while, never going inside. That's when she saw them. It was only a small group, four people in all, but it was enough. One of them saw her looking and motioned for her to join them.

She was never the enthusiastic type when it came to interacting with people she'd just met. Especially if they were girls. Seeing her hesitation, the redhead that had beckoned her over walked to her instead, a big smile on his face. She almost took a pace backward, but instead, took a half step forward. His smile broadened and Willow watched as the others followed right behind him.

They stopped about a foot away and he held out his hand. "My name's Jackson. This is Avery and Zack," He said pointing to the people on his left. Looking to his right, "and this is Cleo." As he said her name, she hooked onto his right arm, a dreamy look in her eyes. "When we grow up, I'm gonna marry Jackson and we're gonna have seven kids, and..." She kept rambling on about her fantasy future, making Jackson blush.

Jackson was a redhead, with freckles all over. He had crystal blue eyes and was an inch taller than she was. He seemed incredibly cool to be around and had a smile that could make someone's heart stop. Cleo had black hair, her curls unbearably perfect, and dark brown eyes. She was also taller than both both Willow and Jackson by about two inches. She was super clingy to Jackson and talked nonstop. Avery was an inch smaller than Cleo and had pale blond hair, her curls wild and seemingly friendly. Zack was the tallest, slightly overweight, but with quite a bit of muscles. He had curly brown hair and yellowish eyes. At least, she thought, they were all six with her.

She seemed to be the odd one out. Her hair was dark green and her eyes blue and green. After a minute, Cleo stopped talking, a thought running through her mind. "Oh! My pastry!" She ran into some side door and into the kitchen. Jackson, relieved that she was gone for the moment, stood up a little straighter. Zack followed Cleo eagerly, wanting to be the first to try the food.

Avery looked at Willow, a small frown forming on her face. "You haven't said your name." Willow looked at her with a shy smile. "The name's Brazil." She held out a hand to Avery. Avery shook it and walked into the side door just as Cleo and Zack did moments ago. But, not everybody was hungry. Jackson stayed behind with Willow, watching as the others went into the building one by one.

She turned away, ready to find her way to the nearest village. Jackson noticed her turn and caught her arm before she could leave. He had seen the satchel she slung over her shoulder, so he assumed she was looking for a place to stay. If she was an orphan, then what better place was there than here? The rest of them here were orphans so why not? She felt his hand close around her arm. He had a light touch, for a boy at least. Turning to him, she saw the question that was forming on his lips. Forcing herself to keep quiet, she let him ask the question.

"Do you have any parents?" She was caught off guard. Since she didn't know if she had any parents, she couldn't answer him truthfully. "No..." Willow said carefully. She decided that she would develop a story to tell why she didn't have any known parents. Taking a sip of water, she noticed that he seemed to brighten up a bit. "So you're an orphan? Like us?" Willow somehow managed to not spit the water she just put into her mouth onto him.

"What?" She looked at him in astonishment. He smiled. "Yup. We're orphans," he said. "And you are too... Right?" He added the last part with a questioning look. She smiled and nodded. "Yes. I am an orphan too." Jackson looked around, as if someone was watching. Willow looked around too, noting the shadowed figure, but not speaking. Jackson finally broke the silence. "Will you stay here, with us?" She looked at him once more, and, seeing his pleading expression, nodded. "Okay. I'll stay." Jackson let out a silent whoop.

He took her hand and practically ran, showing Willow around the castle. The castle guards smiled whenever the two passed them and notified Baron Arald of the newbie's presence. Soon, everyone in the castle knew about her.

The king's assistant, Easton, was in the courtyard, looking at them as they passed. Her smile faded as she studied his eyes. Her breath quickened as an image came to her mind. _Two figures. The one on the left had long gray hair, and raven black clothes, white eyes giving him a dark, menacing look. He was tall and rode a jet black horse. The other, on the right, had white hair and wore dark purple and blue clothing, yellow eyes adding to a forbidding effect._

Willow looked away and didn't look back. Now she knew who the one on the right of the image was. Easton, the king's assistant.


	8. Chapter 6

_I'm now gonna try and update sooner. By that I mean at least once a month. Sorry if not... ~ Willow Treaty_

**_I still do not own Ranger's Apprentice. Sadly... So you can probably guess who the other figure in her 'mental image' is. If not, go back to the prologue and the beginning of_** _**Chapter 1. BTW, I didn't know how to put this in there but, the orphans are 11 years old. Ask if you want me to explain.**_

When they finally got to the kitchen, Jackson slowed to a walk, finally running out of breath. Compared to Jackson's gasps, Willow was barely breathing. Almost literally. She wasn't able to force out enough breathe to bring in the amount needed for her body. When Jackson's gasps receded, he noticed that her face had turned a blueish color. Who knew that she could turn into a Smurf? Rushing inside, he took Avery's arm and rushed her outside, bringing her medical pack with them.

Willow had fought the oncoming darkness that tried to consume her, waiting for Jackson to return. She needed to give him an important piece of information. So, when he finally got back, rushing out the door with Avery and her medical kit, Willow let herself collapse in his arms to tell him. _I've only one shot at this, one shot before it's gone._ Sensing her need to tell him something, Jackson forced his mouth to shut before he bombarded her with his questions.

Willow smiled at the determined face before her. Then, remembering, she shook him slightly. When she had his attention, she spoke, her voice coming out a thin whisper.

"M is back, his brother. And E is with him."

A look of utter confusion appeared on both Avery and Jackson's face when she said that. A small feeling of despair overcame her when she realized that they didn't know what she meant. After a second, Jackson figured it out. Morgarath's brother came to Araluen to get revenge on the king [now queen] and someone in Castle Araluen his helping him. It would be better if Avery didn't know, just in case...

Nodding, Willow smiled again and gave in to the slow-coming darkness. But, just before she went unconscious, a small movement caught her eye, making her unthinkingly alert Jackson of their presence. Seeing the flicker of Willow's eye, he squeezed her hand, signaling that he knew. She relaxed a little, but still fought the oncoming darkness. Now that she thought of it, why was she going unconscious at random?

Muttering to herself, she instinctively jabbed her elbow behind her, fully awake when she heard the grunt of the man behind her. No more darkness, no more sleep. Right now, they were taking on armed men. _Fighting,_ she thought. _Fighting for freedom._ Jackson had pushed Avery into the closet closest to him and barred the door, ensuring that she way out of harm's way. Looking at Willow, he stared in amusement as she ran in circles, making their attackers follow her. It looked like a game of Cat and Mouse. Except, in this case, there were six cats and one mouse.

When he thought that the game went on for long enough, he grabbed a practice sword from the rack near him and ran towards the group of men. Thrusting the sword into one's stomach, his stomach tightened as the wooden sword was now stained a crimson color. The man screamed and fell to the ground, whimpering as his lifeblood was flowing out of his stomach and onto the ground. The leader of the group, fed up with their nonsense, yelled at the others in a different language.

"Voi idioti! Farli!"

The others jumped at the angry tone in his voice. Taking the small opportunity, Willow sent an uppercut to the closest attacker's jaw, knocking him out cold. When the men finally recovered from the yell of their leader, they overtook the two kids, pinning both arms behind their backs. Willow struggled fiercely, almost managing to escape. Instead, she ended up kicking the man in the shin. He yelped and twisted her arm, on the verge of cracking it.

She immediately stopped struggling and stood still as the leader gave instructions to the others. She could understand most of what they were saying, so she complied to his bidding making sure that none of the thugs, as she now called them, touched anyplace other than her hands.

"You!" The leader said, his accent thick, pointing at Jackson. "March in front of _la ragazza._ Immediately!"

Willow, seeing the confusion on Jackson's face, translated the words in the other language. "_La ragazza_ means the girl." Understanding dawned in his eyes as he took his place in front of her. The thug behind her grunted softly, but made no other sounds.

– _**At the castle –**_

Avery pounded her fists on the door once more before giving up. Ever since Jackson had pushed her into the closet, she had pounded on the door till her hands became raw. Yelling didn't work either. It strained her voice and she decided that she wanted to keep that. She had also heard the sound of fighting and desperately wanted to know what was going on.

Trapped in a closet, hungry and scared, she soon became tired, falling asleep. The inky blackness of the space matching her closed eyelids.

She was startled to wake up seeing Baron Arald staring at her. Suppressing a squeak, she stood up with all the grace she had and bowed slightly. Arald, still confused, almost shouted his question.

"What are you doing in here, and where is Jackson and Brazil?"

Avery looked at him and gulped.

"Well you see, BrazilwasnotbreathingsowewerehelpingherandthenJacksonpushedmeintothisclosetand

barredthedoortrappingmeinside. Theywerebeingattackedbysomeforeignersandnowthey'regone!"

Arald could not understand a word she had said.

"Lets talk about this with Ranger Will and Lady Pauline shall we?"

Avery nodded quickly before turning to go. Before she turned the corner Baron Arald's voiced stopped her.

"And Avery, please slow down when you tell them. I want to make sure they understand."

She blushed and turned to face him.

"Yes Baron Arald."

With that, she turned the corner and strode down the hallway, waiting for the time to come for her to tell the story.


End file.
